 There you go, mate. That should do the trick. Rusty, get here! Rusty, settle down. Just jam. G'day, Jim. Morning, Mick. Pull up a chair. I've just made a fresh pot. Hey there, Rusty, old boy. So how's things at home? Grass and cattle all good? It seems so, Mick. Actually, the paddocks are doing better than I expected. But because I've had below-median rainfall for the past three months, should I be worried? Well, the median is just the middle measurement of all records over time. So even if the rainfall and pasture growth is below the median, it could still fall within the average range or middle tersoil. The middle tersoil? Rusty, you deserted me. G'day, Liz. Rusty always loves a visitor, eh? He just loves misbehaving. Liz, you know more about stats than me. How about bringing Jim up to speed on tersoils? Sure. Great. I'll grab some biscuits. Okay, Jim. What do you know about tersoils? Not sure, Liz. Are they anything like percentiles? Sort of. Percentiles and tersoils are both used to rank and order measurements. Percentiles split a set of measurements into divisions of 100, while tersoils split measurements into groups of three or into thirds. Tersoils are really useful for ranking measurements into broad groups to give us more detailed information. Here we are. Fresh out of the oven. They look great, Dad. And perfect for my demonstration. Okay, Jim. Imagine each biscuit is a measurement. For example, they could be a measurement of rainfall or pasture growth over time. Some are large and some are smaller and some are in the middle. To determine whether a biscuit is below average, average or above average, we need to rank them by size, which just means we need to order them from smallest to largest. Once the biscuits are arranged in order by size, we can then split them into three equal groups or thirds. This shows us which tersoil they fall into. The smallest biscuits fall within the first tersoil, which is also called the lower or bottom tersoil. And the middle-sized biscuits fall into the second or the middle tersoil. And the largest biscuits fall into the third tersoil. That's it, Jim. And that's the top or upper tersoil. So now you have the data split into three groups or tersoils according to their size. Rusty obviously likes the third tersoils. So tersoils can be used to show whether a measurement falls within an average, above average or below average range. Yes, compared to the median, which only divides the measurement set into halves. So even if I have below median pasture growth, it could still fall within the average range? Exactly. Rusty! Have a look at this pasture growth map, Jim. You can see the last 12 months of pasture growth for our area fell within the middle tersoil, which is considered the long-term average based on historical data. Now this line shows the pasture growth in kilograms per hectare. See how the line increases as the pasture grown accumulates over the 12-month period. And the last value is the total amount of pasture growth for the 12-month period. Okay. And the shaded area? Well that's the middle tersoil or long-term average pasture growth over time. And you can see the last 12 months of pasture growth for our area fell within the middle tersoil. So we've had average pasture growth then? Exactly. This is when tersoils can be really helpful. While the median or fiftieth percentile only tells us the middle measurement of all the data, tersoils give us a range of values to consider when we're making decisions. So even if the measurement is below the median value, it can still be within the long-term average range? Yes. As long as it's within this middle tersoil. You can use the same information to get an indication of future pasture growth as well. For example, this is the same middle tersoil as the last graph, showing the long-term average pasture growth. The pasture growth model uses the seasonal forecast to estimate the growth for the next six months, which in this instance is in the top tersoil. Wow. That's handy to know. Dad, I think Rusty's had enough bickies. Come on, boy. Let's get you some proper tucker. I hope that's helped. Sure has. Thanks, Liz. Let me show you something else, Jim. We can also look at maps of historical pasture growth based on tersoil ranges. For example, this is a pasture growth map of our region for the last 12 months relative to historical pasture growth. And most of it's gray, so it's in the middle tersoil or average pasture growth range. You can see we had similar pasture growth conditions in 2017, which was also in the middle tersoil. What about 2015? I've heard the conditions were pretty bad back then. You're telling me there was a lot of red on the map that summer. Well, on the other hand, you can see the blue and green areas in 2011. That was a pretty good year for pasture growth. We can also look into the future using what's called most likely tersoil for pasture growth maps. What a mouthful. It is, but these maps actually give us a pasture growth estimate for the next three months over a broad area. Very handy when we have to make future stock and property decisions. So these are new maps? Yep. And what are they called again? Most likely tersoil for pasture growth maps because they give an indication of what tersoil pasture growth you could have for the next three months. So tersoils are helpful because they give you ranges of outcomes instead of a single value, like a median. I use them to understand where we are in relation to previous and future periods of rainfall and pasture growth. I reckon they could help me make some decisions as well. Where do you get them? Well, I get the pasture growth alert report as a monthly subscription, which is free on the Forage page. And the most likely tersoil pasture growth maps are on the Aussie Grass page, both on the Long Paddock website. Thanks for that, Mick. You and Liz do a great job keeping on top of everything. Oh, rainfall, pasture growth and cattle sale price. Speaking of which, did you catch yesterday's market report? Yes, the market is good at the moment. I might have to put a few in the next site. For more information on the products discussed in this video, please visit the Long Paddock website. You can find rainfall and pasture growth maps and access your own pasture growth alert report. Thanks for watching.